Sign Up for Our Healthy Living Newsletter

Thanks for signing up!

Autism spectrum disorders are complicated. What we know now about how autism occurs and how to treat it is probably only the tip of the iceberg. Researchers are working diligently to understand autism and find new ways to help autistic children and their families. From gaining a greater understanding of the genetic causes of autism to developing services for adults with autism, there is a lot happening in the world of autism research. Here are some of the exciting new developments in autism treatment.

Early Recognition of Autism Symptoms

Specialists in autism know that starting autism treatment as early as possible gives autistic children an advantage, but there has been some debate over how early symptoms can be recognized.

“We can reliably screen for autism at 18 months of age, and we’re now developing methods for picking up on early symptoms of autism even earlier than that, at 12 months,” says Geraldine Dawson, PhD, chief science officer of Autism Speaks in New York. “As we begin to detect autism at these very early ages, one of these very exciting new developments is the idea of working with babies that are just developing autism or have the syndrome and then seeing if we can change the trajectory of their development.”

Dawson and others hope early recognition and intervention could reduce symptoms for many autistic babies and toddlers.

Autism Interventions for Babies and Toddlers

In keeping with early identification of autism, researchers are developing interventions for babies and toddlers.

“These are delivered by parents and are designed to help the baby to be more responsive, engage in interaction, and develop early communication,” says Dawson. Autism treatments for babies help babies make eye contact and help parents to pick up on subtle communication cues and learn to calm easily over-stimulated babies so that they enjoy the social interaction.

Proving the Benefits of Early Autism Intervention

Data suggest that intense, early autism intervention during preschool years could help 1 in 10 children recover from the diagnosis. In addition, all children who participate are likely to experience an increase in intelligence and competence, says Dawson.

One such program was developed at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore. “We have shown that we can improve core deficits of autism in 2-year-olds in a nursery school-based program,” says Rebecca Landa, PhD, director of the Center for Autism and Related Disorders at the institute. “We very specifically design our intervention to help children develop two aspects of ability that need attention. One of them has to do with developing the kinds of social skills that you need to interact well with kids your age, and the other one is learning language in such a way that it’s flexible.”

Treating Autism-Related Conditions for Quality of Life

Although there are no medications that can cure autism, it is possible to treat the symptoms, as well as other conditions that are associated with autism and add to the burden faced by autistic children and their families.

“What we are finding is that autism is often associated with medical conditions like gastrointestinal problems, sleep disturbances, and depression and anxiety,” explains Dawson. Treating these conditions in autistic children can improve their quality of life. “There’s a big push now to try to help physicians to identify the conditions when they exist and develop good treatment for them,” Dawson adds.

Understanding the Genetics of Autism

Everyone wants to know what causes autism. Research suggests that there is a genetic component to autism spectrum disorders in many children.

“As we’ve discovered these genes that increase the risk for autism, one of the important insights is that these genes appear to be clustering around junctures in the brain, affecting how synapses are formed. The genes are giving us insight into the actually biochemistry of the brain,” says Dawson. This kind of information could one day lead to medications that could restore the normal function of the brain, she explains.

Preventing Bullying in School

One of the goals of autism treatment is for autistic children to be able to work and play with their peers. Unfortunately, children with autism are often the targets of bullying.

“We are also looking at the social environment of school and how we can reduce the probability that a child is victimized or bullied. There are programs now that are teaching individuals with autism how to deal with feeling anxious in social situations,” says Dawson.

Developing Services for Adults With Autism

As the population of autistic children ages into adulthood, institutions such as community colleges are starting to make adjustments to their curriculum so that young people with autism can receive training and education after high school.

“We recently have launched an adult initiative that is looking at ways we can help people be successful in the workplace,” says Dawson. “There’s going to be a lot more work that we’ll see to help an adult with autism navigate adulthood and also aging. We know almost nothing about how a person with autism ages.”

Even though a cure for autism is not immediately at hand, these developing areas of research offer new avenues for helping children with autism grow and develop.

This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information: verify here.

Advertising Notice

This Site and third parties who place advertisements on this Site may collect and use information about
your visits to this Site and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of
interest to you. If you would like to obtain more information about these advertising practices and to make
choices about online behavioral advertising, please click here.